two bomb blasts rocking afghanistan. new sectarian violence as the z u.s. tries to pave the way out of the country. tick tock. president obama put republicans on the clock. $1,000 on the line for you. and threatening to dish the dirt on newt. nancy pelosi saying she has 1,000 damaging pages on the former house speaker. gingrich saying, bring it. and donald trump, calls the other candidates a joke. it's the donald who's the one they're really laughing at on this "american morning." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com and good morning. it's tuesday, december 6th. ali and christine are off today. i'm alina cho along with carol

costello who's well rested on this "american morning." thanks for joining us. >> i've had four days of sleep. so watch out. up first, what's red, white and blue and can't agree on how to save you money? congress, of course. offering a proposal to extend the pay roll tax cut before it expires at the end of the year, but republicans are not on board. without a deal, pay roll taxes will rise costing millions of americans $1,000 a year. the clock is ticking and president obama is keeping the pressure on. >> my message to congress is this -- keep your word to the american people and don't raise taxes on them right now. now's not the time to slam on the brakes. now's the time to step on the gas. now's the time to keep growing the economy, to keep creating jobs, to keep giving working americans the boost that they need. now's the time to make a real difference in the lives of the people who sent us here. so let's get to work. >> here's how republicans feel about the democrats' new offer.

orrin hatch saying, "it's hard for the majority to call this a compromise when the other side hasn't been involved." kate bolduan is live in washington following developments. why aren't democrats calling this a compromise if republicans weren't involved? >> reporter: they call it a compromise offer because they say the proposal is smaller and comes with a different mix of measures to pay for it that they hope -- they hope will attract more republican support. it's not likely to win over enough support to pass it. here is what democrat are pushing. like the original offer that failed last week it would cut the pay roll employ tax to 3.1%. if congress doesn't act, it goes back up in january. in order to attract more republican votes, surtax from

had 4.2% positive 3.1%. taying for economic stimulus. the plan no longer includes tax cuts for employers to bring down overall costs and adopt add provision from last week's republican proposal to extend the pay roll tax preventing wealthy americans from receives unemployment benefits and food stamps. it's not likely to move anywhere as the millionaire surtax is still included, dooming many democratic proposals in the past. >> we well know that. so if this plan is doomed and the deadline is fast approaching, how is this like to do play out? >> reporter: there's still, this changes day by day, check with me tomorrow, a general thought on capitol hill they will get this done. they will extend the pay roll tax at least for employees in the end, but that leaves us plenty of time for more

political messaging and posturing on both sides before they really get to the point where they feel the need to negotiate. as you and i always talk about, when we always talk about capitol hill, congress loves and generally needs a deadline. seems they're working right up towards their next one. >> yeah. okay. i'll check back with you tomorrow. thanks, kate. coming up at 7:00 eastern, we'll talk with pennsylvania senator bob casey who drew up the compromise pay roll tax plan to see what he has to say about all this. >> look forward to that. the other top story we're watching, trying to save the euro. this morning u.s. treasury secretary tim li geithner is joining talks on how to prevent the collapse of the euro and financial panic from spreading. this after s&p warned it may carry out a mass credit rating downgrade of eurozone countries. cnn's diana magnay joins us live from berlin with more on that. good morning to you. >> reporter: hi, alina.

well, you remember when s&p downgraded the u.s. in august citing the extremely political discussions going on at the time. this is pretty much the same thing. political leaders aren't managing to really get consensus on how to pull the eurozone out of its problems. that's why its put this ratings warning on 15 countries of 17 members of the eurozone. you can imagine the criticism has been fairly strong. why did it have to come out with this kind of warning. especially this week. especially after the leaders, france and germany, yesterday, said they were on track to try and enforce some kind of fiscal discipline across the eurozone ahead of this very important summit on thursday and friday? and it's this summit which is the reason why timothy geithner is over here. it's his third visit since september. sent by president obama, who's called the eurozone the

strongest head wind that might slow down the u.s. economy, and he'll be holding talks not just with his finance minister counterparts but also with heads of state here really trying to put the pressure on europe to come to some kind of agreement, if europe is prepared to listen, alina. >> diana magnay live for news berlin. thank you very much. two bomb blasts rocking afghanistan. at least 54 people killed when a suicide bomb exploded at a shiite shrine in cobbkabul. in another city, a claim of four victims. a third blast in f afghanistan. this one in kandahar. who's responsible? >> reporter: the latest, the death toll has risen to 54 with the death toll 150. one suicide bomber targeted a collection of shia pilgrims tightly packed together near a

shrine here. this was exactly in the heart of kabul, just down the road from the finance ministry, defense ministry, the presidential palace not far away. if this was the insurgency, they've yet to claim responsibility. penetrating what should be the secure heart of the capital. one eyewitness there describes the immediate aftermath which he witnessed saying, really, bodies blown away in direction, like a fan almost out from where this one suicide bomber detonated this device. children, it appears from the children, to be among the dead. women as well. this death toll troubling could rise further. it appears to have traveled according to some accounts as they begin to know the full scope of the damage in the hospitals around here. again, this happened on an important shia holiday. concerns perhaps it could spark sectarian unrest here. bear in mind, this is not iraq where the sunni/shia divide was a part of the conflict.

afghanistan knew of these sectarian threats if this is exactly what it was, that have been tried to be initiated here. seriously, troubling scenes here. one of the worst attacks we've seen for a number of years here. two to three at least, and a death toll that does appear to be continuing to rise. >> reporting live in kabul, afghanistan. an update on the worst oil spill in u.s. history. oil giant bp is launching a lawsuit against one of its drilling partners halliburton after the deadly explosion in the gulf last year. saying they intentionally destroyed evidence after the spill about possible problems. the explosion killed 11 workers and dumped 200 million gal, of oil into the gulf. a halliburton spokesperson said it is reviewing the court filing but believes the allegations are not true. the third man to accuse former syracuse coach bernie fine of sexual abuse now admits he is guilty of the very same

crime. zachary tomaselli is facing 11 charges including gross sexual assault in maine. he plans to plead guilty to molesting a young teenage boy at a summer camp in 2009 and 2010. tomaselli now 23 claims coach fine fondled him in a hotel room in pittsburgh in 2002. and jerry sandusky may soon face his accusers. all eight alleged victims of the former penn state football coach will reportedly testify again him in open court, according to abc news. the preliminary hearing is set to begin next tuesday. sandusky, as you know, is accused of molesting the boys over an eight-year period. the victims were part of sandusky's organization the second mile. meantime two men are suing the boston red sox alleging they were abused by former clubhouse manager donald mitts patrick who died in 2005. one of the alleged victims claims he was assaulted insided the clubhouse at fenway park

when he worked there as a teenager in the early 1990s. the two are suing for $5 million. the team paid a $3.5 million settlement back in 2003 to seven men who said fitzpatrick abused them during spring training in the 1970s. a two-day sentencing hearing for ron blagojevich begins later this morning in chicago. former illinois governor was convicted last summer on 18 corruption related charges including trying to sell the president's former senate seat. prosecutors want the judge to throw the book at blagojevich, they're asking for as much as 20 years in prison. blagojevich is expected to make a personal plea for leniency. the judge's decision is expected sometime tomorrow. >> i had almost forgotten about him. >> he's back. still to come, speaker versus speaker. how two old political foe, newt gingrich and nancy pelosi, are preparing to clash once again. we'll explain. and caught on tape. a car smashes through the front door of a restaurant and end up in the dining room as people

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airfare credit, plus save up to 65%. call 1-800-sandals. certain restrictions apply. 14 minutes past the hour. welcome back. newt gingrich is on a roll with four weeks to go before the iowa caucuses. just take a look at this brand new "washington post" abc news poll. the former house speaker opening a 15-point lead over mitt romney and ron paul. on the issues of electability, empathy and handling the economy, gingrich topped romney in every single category. the godfather of gridlock. that's what president obama's top strategist, david axelrod, is calling gop presidential front-runner newt gingrich. on piers morgue's tonight, axelrod slammed gingrich's tv ad which launched in iowa yesterday saying the republicans' theme of working together to solve problems would be a hard sell

given his past. >> i don't think there's any single person in this country that did more to create the kind of discord in washington that we see today than newt gingrich. he's really the godfather of gridlock. he was the one who really created an environment in which people started treating each other as enemies and not as opponents here in washington. he was the one who shut the government down three times when he was trying to close the department of education and to defund the epa and to cut medicare in order to give tax cuts to the wealthy. he was the one who led to the impeachment of a president, and now he's offering himself as someone who can bring the country together. i think that's going to be a hard sell. >> newt gingrich has heard it all before. he's been around long enough to know how the game is played in washington. when you're on top, things can get ugly.

how he tangles for hearts and minds in iowa, he's also preparing attacks from the left, like from david axelrod, and also a familiar old foe, jim acosta has more. >> reporter: at a news conference in new york, newt gingrich insited he can go toe to toe with his chief rival mitt romney in the battle for the nomination even with a much smaller organization. >> we have all of these articles how business, getting leaner, how they're flattening hierarchies, how they're doing all sorts of things. people now work from home. you have virtual organizations. all of these cutting edge ideas, and then you have a group of consultants who believe you have to be slow, cumbersome and expensive. >> the donald has had the number one show in the country. okay? he is a genuine american icon in his own right. why wouldn't you want to come and hang out with him? >> reporter: part of the gingrich plan also include ad a

visit rwith donald trump. in iowa, a new ad draws comparisons for reagan's. and the message is similar to, yes, we can. >> yes, working together. we can and will rebuild the america we love. >> reporter: team obama is sitting up and taking notice with gingrich surging to the top of the latest des moines register poll. >> i think a lot of people inside the beltway and outside the beltway woke up today to a very different political environment and one in which newt gingrich is very much for real. >> reporter: democrats seem all too eager to face gingrich in an interview with the block talking points leader nancy pelosi hinted she may dredge up the congressional investigations into the former speaker's leadership during the 1990s. i know a lot about him, pelosi said. i served on the investigative committee that investigated him. four of us locked in an undisclosed room for a year. 1,000 pages of his stuff i. want

to thank speaker pelosi as an early christmas gift. >> reporter: gingrich accused her of using her office to damage his candidacy. >> we don't always see eye to eye, do we, neat? >> reporter: a sign the two former speakers aren't at chummy as battles climate change in this 2008 ad. >> turned over 1 million pages of material. we had a huge report. the total -- 83 charges were repudiated as false. it's one mistake we made was a letter written by a lawyer that i didn't read carefully. >> reporter: liberal occupy wall street protesters are champing at the bit after gingrich took them -- >>ing in nag gone filthy rich rolling around in filthy money and selling the government to the highest bidder. >> did a wonderful job in organizing that. brilliant. has lots of positives, but i still -- it would be -- i will

have difficulty supporting him as president of the united states. >> reporter: newt gingrich is doing more than just meeting with the donald. he's also in search of campaign cash. he's drawn into a 50-state battle for the gop nomination with mitt romney, he'll need more than good poll numbers to come out on top. jim acosta, cnn, new york. >> never a dull moment. a terrifying crash caught on camera we want to show you. take a look at this. it happened in miramar, california, a car smashes through a restaurant, look at that, straight towards a group of customers. surprisingly, just one person was hit on his way out the door. thankfully, no one seriously injured. the driver said she accidentally hut the gas pedal instead of the brakes. >> i hate when that happens. >> that's happened before. >> the video is only like the first five or ten feet of the storefront, but this went stratd back to the kitchen as if they had a bad lunch or something.

>> geez. blame the cook. >> exactly. hey, this video out of new mexico. yeah. we talked about snow yesterday at this time in new mexico. here's the proof in the pudding. they still have parts of i-10, which borders the mexican border, shut down this morning. i-25 south of albuquerque also shut down because of snow and in spots, record breaking. cedar crest, higher elevations, a foot of snow. even albuquerque seeing three, four inches of snow. that is record-setting. other spots seeing similar amounts. winter storm warnings out, mostly for blowing snow. it's stretching up to places like kansas city. across the northeast, in the form of rain. obvious lis temperatures well above freezing. 50s, lower 60s expected out ahead of this very slow moving front. down across the south. stagnant air. jacksonville through myrtle

beach, through greenville and spartanburg looking at bad driving conditions. low visibility here. this may affect travel as far as air travel is concerned. there's your slow moving front. cold air behind it. also breezy across southern california. one more day of the santa ana winds and here's the chilly air in minneapolis. 16 degrees. there's your december. meanwhile, 61 degrees in new york city. feels more like september there. enjoy it. gets chillier and more wet. >> it's winter somewhere in america and i'm glad i'm not there yet. >> heading your way soon. >> thanks, rob. >> see ya. still to come, newt gingrich now the fifth republican candidate to seek a private audience with donald trump. some republicans are wondering whether an endorsement from the donald could actually backfire. we'll talk more about that when we return. it's 21 minutes after the hour. pacific life offers life insurance, annuities for lifetime income, mutual funds and retirement solutions. ask a financial professional about how pacific life's

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25 minutes past the hour. "minding your business" now, some are calling this the make or break week for the eurozone. it's not off to a good start. any confidence early in the day that the eu was moving forward to fix its problems was quickly erased after ratings agency standard & poor's put 15 eurozone countries on notice for possible downgrades. greater rick of a recession in 2012 in eurozone, the main reason. and stocks off their highs towards of end of the session once the s&p news broke. stocks trading higher ahead of the opening bell. keep a close eye on futures. a lot of market volatility. european and asian markets are down so far today. remember that europe is america's number one trading partner. whatever happens there will have a ripple effect here in the united states. today treasury secretary timothy

geithner is in germany pushing for european officials to agree on a larger resolution to prevent any eu nations from defaulting. the big eu leader summit starts friday in brussels. back here in the u.s., that mass exodus from big banks not as big as we first thought. turns out far fewer people switched to credit unions from large banks after the uproar over debit fees. the credit union national association at mitts they're survey was misinterpreted and just 214,000 new customers switched to credit unions in october, not 650,000. credit union or not, americans are on the ball this year with holiday shopping. a new survey by america's research group says one-third of americans are already done buying presents for the holiday season. shoppers took advantage of last month's big deals on black friday and cyber monday. and online shoppers spent a staggering $6 billion according to online shopping tracker kpom score, and they're later report says cyber monday was the biggest online shopping day on

record with $1.25 billion spent. wow. "american morning" will be back after a break. nyquil: you know i relieve coughs, sneezing, fevers? tylenol: me, too. and nasal congestion. nyquil:what? tissue box (whispering): he said nasal congestion...

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an audience with the donald. newt gingrich in new york for a private powwow with the real estate mogul, on the road to the white house, does trust really matter? we're getting answers on this "american morning." welcome back to "american morning" for a tuesday. it's 30 minutes part the hour. time for this morning's top stories. democrats rolled out a compromise plan to extend the pay roll tax cut before it expires at the end of the year. the plan would be paid for by a scaled back millionaire's surtax. democrats say letting the tax cut expire would cost the average family $1,000 a year. many republicans question

whether the tax cut has actually helped the economy. oil giant bp files a lawsuit against halliburton. weren't of its contractors during the deadly rig explosion in the gulf of mexico last year. bp is saying halliburton destroyed key evidence that pointed to problems with its cement slurry. a halliburton spokesperson said it is reviewing the court filing, but it believes the allegations are not true. and two men suing the boston red sox claiming they were sexual abused by a clubhouse manager when they worked in fenway park clubhouse as teens in the early '90s. the alleged attacker is donald fitzpatrick. he died in 2005. the team previously settled a case in which fitzpatrick was accused of molesting minors during spring training in florida. and the world of politics. newt gingrich is surging in the polls. a perfect time for a little chat with donald trump. right? does seem to be a pattern. gingrich is now the fifth republican candidate to get an

audience with the donald. they met last night in manhattan, but on the road to the gop nomination, does trump really matter? here's mary snow. >> reporter: with a crush of cameras awaiting him, newt gingrich became the latest republican presidential hopeful to pay a visit to donald trump. he defended plans for an upcoming president's debate to be moderated by the real estate developer and reality tv show host, said to be sponsored by the conservative website newsmass. >> a country which elect add peanut farmer to the presidency. it elected an act here had made two movies of a champ pan chimp presidency. >> i'm not going to kiss his ring and any other part of his anatomy. this is not about ratings for donald trump. this is about jobs for the american people. >> reporter: also count ron paul as a definite no. >> i don't understand the marching to his office.

i mean, i didn't know that he had an ability to lay on hands. you know, and anoint people. >> reporter: firing back, trump, who's also promoting a new book, dismissed the criticisms in an interview on nbc. >> i think they are joke candidates, doing poorly and certainly mr. huntsman is doing extremely poorly in the polls at 1% and frankly it gives more air time to people that really have a chance at getting elected. >> reporter: while some conservatives and candidates have stinging words for trump who flirted with running for president. it hasn't stopped several gop white house hopefuls from seeking him out. michele bachmann met with trump four times. also rick perry. mitt romney, and as a candidate, herman cain each met up with trump, and now newt gingrich. >> he's a great showman and businessman. if we're trying to figure out how to create job, one of the differences between my party and the other party is we actually go to people who know thousand

create jobs, to figure out how to create jobs. >> reporter: a new nbc maris poll measured what an endorsement from donald trump could mean. likely republican voters in new hampshire, 37% would be less likely to vote for a trump-endorsed candidate. 19% would be more likely to support those who trump green lights. in iowa, the numbers are not all that different either, and then there's an entirely different number that donald trump is talking about. in his new book, he claims to be worth $7 billion. you might remember when he was considering running for president, he wouldn't disclose that number. forbes had estimated his worth to be between $250 million and $3 billion. mary snow, cnn new york. exactly one month to go before the iowa caucuses. newt gingrich is emerging as a solid front runner the hawkeye state. a brand new "washington post" abc poll has him 15 points ahead in the poll. if he wins iowa, a big if,

because anything could happen, the former house speaker could be sitting pretty, because he is gaining ground on mitt romney in new hampshire, too. let's talk more about iowa with kate henderson, the news director of radio iowa and she joins us by phone from des moines this morning. good morning. you've been covering politics in iowa nearly 25 years. you have seen it all. newt gingrich is leading in the polls right now, but a lot of people are wondering, does he actually have the manpower to get out the vote and win? what is his ground operation looking like in iowa? >> reporte >> re, the ground operation benefits from one thing. he doesn't really have to introduce himself to iowans. every iowan knows who newt gingrich is. their challenge, reaching is a parties, potential supporters and organizing to have a spokesperson at each one of the precinct meeting on caucus night. there will be more than 1,700 of these meetings around the state. so the focus that gingrich ain't

here in iowa right now are trying to lineup tleefrs 1,700 to 1,800 individuals who will speak their peace for newt gingrich before the votes are actually cast on caucus night. >> you last interviewed newt gingrich on december 1st. what did he tell you? >> i asked him about several things. one of the interesting things he told me was that he is perhaps the most accomplished outsider to the running for president in modern history. the question, of course, was, how can you be both an outsider and an insider? gingrich presents himself to audiences here in iowa and elsewhere as someone who knows the ropes in washington, d.c. and would be a better president than president obama having that few decades of experience in congress, but he also conversely talks about the past dozen years that he spent out of office making money as an author and he

tries to be both things. >> it appears at least one-third of iowa voters are buying that argument? >> right. he is -- he is positioned in this way, i think, because iowans have been keenly interested in the televised debates. and there are two debates coming up. one on saturday, and one or thursday of next week, and i think those will be hugely important in helping iowans make up their minds. >> let's talk a little about ron paul, because he is neck and neck with mitt romney vying for second place in iowa. you know, some people want to write him off. he's made quite a commitment in iowa. what are people there saying about his chances? >> well, ron paul is saying he has a chance to actually win the

caucuses. >> what do you think? >> his campaign manager helped manager pat buchanan's surprise second -- place finish in 1988, and if you remember bob dole that year, pat robertson won second and george

herbert walker bush won third. this is someone who knows the mechanics keenly. helped pat buchanan come within two points in 1996 and their organization with the straw poll, very organized. ron paul has spent far more time in iowa than most of the other candidates, say, for people like michele bachmann and rick santorum, and is paying dividends in sealing the deal with people who think as he does, particularly in regards to financial policies. >> someone who hasn't, apparently, mitt romney. what's missing between him and iowa voters is a handshaking? >> exactly. he has not spent as much time here by far as he did in 2007 and a lead up to the 2008 caucus, but he does have a core of committed supporters who have been unwavering romney people throughout this process, and i think he will spend some time here in iowa over the next few weeks to try to make that handshake and seal the deal in person. >> you know, with all the people that you've talked to over these past several months, i mean, what are the voters saying in about who they believe at this early stage is the most electable in a general election? >> i think that's a question that will be asked of gingrich over the next few weeks. it's also a selling point that the romney campaign will be making to iowans that he is the most electable. these iowa republicans are in many ways in the same position that iowa democrats were in

2004. they are hungry to win back the white house, and electability is one of the key factors that they're using when they're making their choice. >> all right. kate henderson, news director at radio iowa joining us by phone in des moines. thank you so much for your perspective. >> good morning. well, the cain train won't be pulling into iowa come caucus time. herman cain, of course, suspended his republican presidential campaign following allegations of sexual harassment and an extramarital affair. share bialek accused him of groping her back in 2004. she was asked how she felt about cain dropping out of the race. >> you might think i would have been elated that. it was kind of bittersweet, in the sense that, yes, i was happy that he suspended it, but it saddened me, because even though he did so, he still has not spoken the truth. he's trying to blame these,

everything that's happened on everyone else except the one person that he should blame it on, and that's himself. >> cain says the incident bialek describes did not happen. two of college basketballs elite coaches joining another elite group. "sports illustrated" named pat summit and duke's mike shshevsky as the sportsman and sportswoman of the year. pat announced she had early onset alzheimer's disease this summer and plemped to keep coaching to show others they can live with it. summit and krzyzewski are the winningest in college basketball. just the third and fourth college basketball coaches to receive the honor. good for them. congratulations. calling all spies, the british government may want to make you an offer, if you can crack this code.

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welcome back to "american morning." it's 45 minutes after the hour. turns out that britain is looking for a few good spies. that's right. the government is using a unique recruiting tool to find the next generation of cyber specialists. >> hmm. it's called a coded online puzzle. crack it, and you may just have a career in intelligence. cnn's brian todd has more for you. >> reporter: here's your challenge -- 160 combinations of numbers and letter, and a countdown clock. you've got a few days to your deadline. if you crack this code, could you be the next real-life james

bond? >> bond. james bond. >> reporter: maybe not. but if you're a british citizen and you solve this crypt graphic puzzle, you could be recruited for britain's next generation of high-tech spies. hosted online, publicized on facebook and twitter it's put out by the government's communications headquarters. britain's version of america's national security agency, a band of eavesdroppers, whose job, finding terrorists. they once posted ads inside video game. this puz hall gotten thousands of hits and at least 50 people solved it. if do you it, you're congratulated, offered a chance to apply. >> what do you think of this as a recruiting tool? >> a great idea. it brings awareness of need for crypting tographers. >> mark stout is an expert on code cracking at the international spy museum in washington. he says for people with reasonable training in math and computer science, this code

probably isn't too hard. >> what kind of crucial intelligence can you gather by code breaking? >> senate intelligence, we call it, can be tremendously valuable, because it's one of the rare forms of intelligence that if done properly, access to the right things gives you the enemy's intention. what are they really thinking? >> reporter: they need cyber warriors more than ever. officials at the headquarters say they want people with an interest in so-called ethical hacking. illegal hackers need not apply. how will that play? mark mayfray is a former hacker who co-founded a firm called ei digital security. he says sophisticated hacker, might find this puzzle gym uc gimmicky. >> actually hack the server hosting this challenge and actually change the challenge to have some funny message or some other thing. >> reporter: other cyber experts say the code's too easy. an official at the british

government headquarters says it's not designed to be overly difficult. more to promote awareness of what that agency does. mayfray and others say if that's the goal, then it's worth it. to get teenagers and others excited about potential careers in legitimate espionage. brian todd, washington. >> 50 people cracked the code. not bad. >> amazing. nasa's keppler telescope may have found our twin. earth ii. scientists say it circles a star just like our sun and is just the right distance away to allow liquid water to exist and possibly harbor life just like our own little planet. nasa says the average temperature there is about 72 degrees fahrenheit. so san diego everywhere on that planet. don't start packing yet. about 600 light years away. who knows if there's anything on that planet. >> calling it fascination. >> the goldilocks planet, they're calling it. not too far, not too close, just right. 49 minutes after the hour.

still ahead on "american morning," mitt romney and the race for the gop nomination. today a former vice president will endorse the candidate. so who is it? we'll tell you. back after this. capital one's new cash rewards card

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52 minutes past the hour. here's what you need to know to start your day. bomb blasts rocking afghanistan killing at least 58 people. 54 were killed in a suicide explosion at a shiite shrine in kabul. at least 150 people were injured and police do expect to find more victims. president obama urging lawmakers to pass a new pay roll tax plan proposed by senate democrat. he said it would give 160 million middle-class american an extra $1,000 in their paychecks. republicans are rejecting it saying they no input in the compromise plan. u.s. treasury secretary timothy geithner joining with counterparts on how to prevent a collapse of the euro. this after standard & poor's warned it may carry out a mass credit rating downgrade of eurozone countries.

a missing georgia girl is found dead. her body tossed in a dumpster near her home in canton. police say 7-year-old jorelys rivera was about zucted, sexually assaulted and beaten. last seen alive friday. police are now searching for the killer. former illinois governor rob blagojevich will be back in court this morning for his sentencing hearing. blagojevich was convicted on 17 corruption charges related to his attempt to sell president obama's former senate seat. prosecutors are asking the judge for a 15 to 20-year sentence. and dan quayle is said to endorse mitt romney for president. the former vice president will make a formal announcement alongside romney at an event today in phoenix. that's the news you need to know to start your day. "american morning" is back after this.

good morning. we were just chatting. if you watched herman cain's big announcement over the weekend you probably saw what appeared to be his wife sticking by his side. funny thing is, that's not what comedian jimmy kimmel saw that day. take a look. >> gloria cain was at the speech on saturday, and she seems to be sticking by her husband, no matter what. >> i am at peace with my god. i am at peace with my wife. and she is at peace with me.

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deadly blasts. new tape of an explosion that rocked afghanistan on a muslim holiday. fears of new sectarian violence as the united states tries to pave a way out of the country. tick tock. president obama puts republicans on the clock. $1,000 intake-home cash on the line for you. you have to walk from the front to the back of the bus backwards, and while the bus is full with other band members and you get beat until you get to the back. >> ah. history of hazing and death at florida a&m university exposing an ugly secret, inside the hazing in their world famous brand. and many parents clueless that their kids are just too

fat. why a new study says doctors aren't helping in the battle against childhood obesity on this "american morning." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com good morning. it's tuesday, december 6th. christine and ali are off this morning. i'm alina cho along with carol costello on this "american morning." glad you're with us. >> good morning to you. we begin this hour with breaking news. a third blast reportedly rocking afghanistan over night. at least 54 people killed in one of those attack. when a bomb exploded in a shiite temple. three separate bombings in three separate cities. is that how it goes this morning? >> reporter: it does appear to be a coordinated attack. insurgency is not renowned. doing that. also what is new, shia has been

targeted on this important religious holiday. gathering near the finance mystery, the defense ministry, even the president's palace, right in the center of kabul here to mark that particular religious day. a suicide bomber in that tightly packed crowd detonating his device. quite distressing video showing the exact moment of that blast. >> jesus. >> reporter: really, at this point you are seeing the chaos that emerged as that particular device went off. people deeply, obviously, distressed, and this obviously happening on a tkey religious holiday. the concern, are we about to see a sectarian conflict between those port parts, the sunnis and

shias which became the epicenter of the conflict in iraq. it's not played a particularly big part in afghanistan's civil warfare so far. mostly tajiks and pash tatans. it's not clear how it will play out. moving forward, they've each said that they are not responsible for the attacks in kabul or matter of fact condemning them suggesting the occupier, nato, american forces, are to blame for them somehow. some denied, suggesting they are perhaps trying to make these things happen to stay longer. so deeply confusing day in terms of what this sectarian attack means for the ongoing insurgency here. carol? >> nick paton walsh reporting live from kabul, afghanistan. desperately seeking a capitol hill compromise. democrats and republicans are sparring over just how to pay for an extension of that pay roll tax cut affecting millions

of americans. it's said to expire at the end of the year. democrats put forward a new plan, and with the clock ticking, president obama is urging lawmakers to find common ground. and fast. >> the message to congress is this -- keep your word to the american people and don't raise taxes on them right now. now's not the time to slam on the brakes. now's the time to step on the gas. now's the time to keep growing the economy, to keep creating jobs, to keep giving working americans the boost that they need. now's the time to make a real difference in the lives of the people who sent us here. so let's get to work. >> republicans, though, aren't onboard with the democrats' new offer. in fact, utah senator orrin hatch saying "it's hard for the majority to call this a compromise when the other side hasn't been involved." ouch. cnn's kate bolduan following all the developments for us is live in washington. kate, good morning. >> reporter: alina, like the

original offer that fame e fail the senate last week, they're proposing to extend and expanded employee tax cut from 4.2 to bring it down to a 3.1% tax as a reminder congress doesn't act, the rate will go back up to 6.2% in january. and here are a couple of the major differences in the new plan being put forth by senate democrats. it no longer provides a tax cut to employers. in order to bring down the yoercherall cost of the package and attract more republican support. democrats have scaled down the surtax on income over $1 million, down to just under a 2% tax to just over a 3% tax. and that million surtax as it called temporary and have done that in response to republican opposition to imposing a permanent tax to pay for temporary economic stimulus. that's why they say they're putting forth a compromise offer

here. we could see a first test vote on this plan as early as friday, but as we've discussed earlier, it's not likely that this bill will be going anywhere as the millionaire surtax is still part of this deal and has doomed others in the past. republicans are firm oppose to it. as they view it, it's a tax hike on small businesses and job creators and as they put it, it's a poison pill. >> doesn't sound very good. remind us, kate, when is the dead line and is there any shot at deal at this point? >> reporter: the deadline is at the end of december. this tax, this temporary tax, tax cut, will run out at the end of this month. so that the tax increase, if you will, would kick in in the beginning of january, if congress does not act. congress is also working on a tight deadline as they're dealing with other year-end issues. they have a very limited amount of time to try to reach a deal on this and other important issues like, oh, keeping the

government funded beyond december 16th. there is a general thought, though, at least to this point, that at some point republicans and democrats of both the house and senate will come together to find some sort of compromise they goethe can agree to do extend the pay roll tax cut as leaders on both sides and both parties think it's an important vote. we clearly are not there yet. >> talking about that 11th hour deal there, kate. >> reporter: yes. >> live in washington, kate, thank you. and senate bob casey is the man behind the new democratic pay roll tax cut plan. and senator casey joins us now from capitol hill. good morning. >> good to be with you, thank you. >> you say you've come up with this compromise plan, but you heard what senator orrin hatch says. this is not compromise, because republicans weren't involved. so why weren't republicans involved? >> certainly they were involved, because we know exactly where the parties stand as of last week. we put forth a pay roll tax cut last week which was for

employees and employers and they didn't agree with that, and they put up their own proposal, and that got just 20 votes. here we are now trying to come together as democrats and republicans. this is really simple. it's about two things. are we going to increase taxes on families at the end of the year? going into a new year? or are we going to cut them again and give them more take-home pay. that's has this is about. money in your pocket instead of having it taken out of your paycheck. as simple as that. >> the real bone of contention, this tax on millionaires for republicans. why not find a way. they'll never agree to that. said it 1 million time. why not find another way? >> well, look, when we have an economy which is still recovering. we're making some progress, but we still need to kickstart or jump-start the economy. we've got to create jobs. cutting the pay roll tax is one of, maybe the only, action that congress can take in the next few weeks or months to do just that. to create jobs.

we've got to do this now. we've got to give taxpayers the kind of center they should have by the end of the year, and i think it makes a lot of sense. we've cut this surtax way down from what it was. it's a reasonable compromise. it's a reasonable way to get revenue, to be able to give middle income families the break they should have a right to expect. >> the other interesting thing that's in this plan is that we want to eliminate the number of millionaires collecting food stamps. are there really that many millionaires collecting food stamps? >> well, the reason we put that in there, that's republicans, insisting on having that in their proposal last week. that's a measure of how far we're willing to go to compromise, but i think republican senators should ask themselves. shouldn't a few americans help us provide a tax cut at the end of the year and throughout next year for 160 million americans? i think it makes sense for those workers, those small businesses, but also it makes a lot of sense for our economy. we need -- take steps to grow

the economy. >> i'm sorry i keep going back to this, but it fascinates me. how many millionaires do you suppose are collecting food stamps? does anyone no? >> i don't know the exact number. we can get that for you, but that's one measure to show we're trying to do everything we can to find a -- to be able to make sure this legislation is paid for. that's what significant about this. this is a payroll tax cut, putting money in people's pockets and it's paid for. i think that's what taxpayers at least across pennsylvania that i've talked to want us to do. they want us to come together on job creation strategies, do it now and do it in a bipartisan way, and i think we can. >> the biggest problem with these temporary tax breaks, you know, like the payroll tax break and it's temporary, but then when you go to reinstate it, it's suddenly a tax hike and everybody talks about it as if it's a tax increase. why not just -- you know, institute some sort of tax reform? >> well, i think that's going to

be coming, and there's certainly bipartisan consensus we need tax reform. it's not happening in the next couple weeks. the problem is now we have an economy which we need to kickstart again to create jobs now. this is a very important, some would even say precarious moment for the economy. this is one of the best ways to do it. we showed last year when we came together on a bipartisan tax bill, we got strong private sector job growth, especially in february, march and april. well above 200,000 private sector jobs created. we freed need to do that again. >> on a scale of one to ten. will a deal get done by the december deadline? >> i think we'll get it done, but i hope we don't simply extend it. that would be great. down by 2 percentage points. we ought to cut the pay roll tax in half. that would be ideal and give the economy a real jolt. >> senator bob casey. thank you for joining us this morning. >> thank you very much. well, two former house speakers are turning back the clock and getting ready for what

could be another epic battle. with front-running republican newt gingrich surging in all the polls, democrats are starting to take notice, and one old foe, former speaker nancy pelosi, is hinting she's ready to go on the attack. dredging up investigations of gingrich when he served in the house back in the 1990s. pelosi saying, "i know a lot about hum. i served on the investigative committee that investigated him. for of us locked in a room in an undisclosed location for a year. 1,000 pages of his stuff." here's gingrich's response. >> i want to thank speaker pelosi for what i regard as an early christmas gift. >> that information re-emerging? >> we turned over a million pages of material. we had a huge report. the total -- 83 charges were repudiated as false. the one mistake we made was a letter written by a lawyer that i didn't read carefully.

>> the "washington post" abc news poll has gingrich 15 points ahead in the field in iowa. the former speaker is calling on the house to repudiate pelosi's comments, accusing her of using her office to damage his candidacy. still to come this morning, tell it to the jump. former illinois governor rob blagojevich expected to plea for leniency at his hearing today. his sentencing hearing, i should say. we're live in chicago this morning. a little later on in the program, we're going to be hearing from the parents of the florida college drum major killed in a suspected hazing incident. our jason carroll has an exclusive interview with the parents. and caught on tape. a car smashes into the front of a restaurant, right into the dining room, as people watch in horror. you're watching "american morning." it's 12 minutes past the hour. h♪ ♪ my hair is gone ♪ cheap cologne ♪ motor home ♪ i'm the rocket man! [ both ] ♪ rocket man ♪ burning out his fuse up here alone ♪ burning out his fuse up here alone? ahh.

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welcome back to "american morning." it's 16 minutes after the hour. the head of the federal aviation administration, the faa, grand a leave of absence. arrested saturday night in fairfax, virginia. charged with driving while

intoxicated. his job status is being reviewed now by the transportation department. there's no word yet from the white house on whether the president will ask for his resignation. in a few hours, rob blagojevich will be back in court for the start of a two-day sentencing hearing. prosecutors will ask the judge to throw the book at the former illinois governor, kwishgtsconv more than a dozen counts of corruption. >> reporter: rob blagojevich, of course, has had a lot of important speeches in his political career, but this morning his most important speech of his life, because his freedom is at stake. he'll be allowed to address the court in a few hours here and basically what people will be watching for is, will he show any signs of remorse? up until now, even after the guilty verdicts came down against him, he has said he's innocent. he's innocent. in his filings, his defense filings, he's asked the judge to play tape it's during the sentencing hearing which he says

will prove his innocence. legal analysts say that is a chapter that is finished. you need to show remorse in front of this judge. that will be something that will be very interesting to see, which rod blagojevich shows up today in court. prosecutors are asking the judge to sentence him to 15 to 20 years in jail. he's been found guilty on 18 separate counts. the defense arguing that he should get more along the lines of three to four years. we'll see what this judge decides. >> will this be a lengthy process, ted? when will the judge actually sentence him? >> reporter: yeah. you know, normally a sentencing hear take as few hour. everybody gets their chance in front of the judge. this judge set aside two days. today we're going to hear from blagojevich, we'll hear from pross xuds and defense attorneys and then the just says he wants to sleep on it and will deliver the actual sentence wednesday morning. so two separate hearings. blagojevich will find out his sentence on wednesday. he likely will not go to jail right away.

if you look at george ryan, the other former illinois governor who's now serving a six-year term in jail for corruption, the judge in that case allowed him to report to the bureau of prisons at a later date. so blagojevich likely will be able to spend the holidays with his family. he's got two young daughters. the jury said they didn't feel a lot of empathy for them, just didn't believe him on the stand. blagojevich likely will be able to report himself sometime next year. >> ted roll nwlands live in chi. thanks. a terrifying car crash caught on camera we want it show you. it happened in miramar, california. crashing through a group of customers. the incredible part. look what happened. one person hit on his way out the door. thankfully, nobody seriously injured. the driver, this is the explanation. says she accidentally hit the gas pedal instead of the brakes, and that's what happens when you do that. >> amazing how often that happens, though.

the restaurant didn't look too full, though. >> no, it didn't. but a little bit of damage to that restaurant. >> yeah. >> california's got the santa ana winds, car crashes and restaurants. can't get a break out there, rob. >> well, there's a price to be paid when you live in paradise. that's weren't of them. cars into restaurants. >> true. video out of new mexico, also a spectacular place, unusual weather. the border of mexico, the country, albuquerque setting a record and right now i-10 and i-25 still shut down, though most of the snow ended. i suspect those roads will open shortly. these are some of the totals. snow totals at the higher elevations, over a foot in spots. albuquerque setting a record. all they needed, get to an inch to set a record. the cold air in places like arizona. tucson, arizona, coldest start in december since 1913, and they are feeling it this morning with temperatures in the 20s in

tucson. filtering back into southern california. one more day of santa ana winds. the latest of the few we've had and we break down this pattern as the system makes its way into the plains and eventually the northeast. a couple systems coming through the northeast. relatively light rain and mild as well. temperatures might actually get up over 60 degrees today before the back edge of this system comes in. delays the airports because of low clouds and rainfall. especially the new york and philly metropolitan area. d.c. maybe a lesser extent. we get one, two pulses of rainfall here in the next 48 hour. actually the back side of that, cold air in wednesday night into thursday, might get a little snow accumulating. mostly away from the bigger cities. maybe one to two inches, i think at this point. 61 in new york city for a high temperature. that is balmy. 16 in minneapolis, here comes the cold air. 39 in chicago. don't be fooled. keep your rain gear near. >> rob, thank you very much.

>> good advice. still to come this morning, the manhunt for an inmate who broke out of prison in new hampshire. authorities believe he is now on the run in maine. and a shocking new study says many parents cannot tell whether their child is overweight. we'll discuss, coming up. [ sniffs ] i have a cold. [ sniffs ] i took dayquil

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eurozone. stocks came off their highs for the end of the session yesterday once this s&p news broke. right now u.s. stock futures are trading higher ahead of the opening bell. we'll keep a close eye on them this morning. a lot of market volatility now. european and asian markets are down so far today. using credit cards like it's 2008 again. 70,000 more shopped on credit cards than last year. the banks are getting everything they can to get you to pull occupant the plastic. this surged 80% in the past year. and verizon wireless is blocking wallet from being placed on android smartphones. a smartphone can double as a credit card and you can swipe it over a censor at stores. cnn contacted verizon for an explanation, but they've not yet

responded. this economy is creating more mr. moms. calling it a mansession. a growing number of dads are staying at home to watch the kids while mom goes back to work. don't forget that the latest news about your money, check out the all-new cnnmoney.com. "american morning" is back after this. the other office devices? they don't get me. they're all like, "hey, brother, doesn't it bother you that no one notices you?" and i'm like, "doesn't it bother you you're not reliable?" and they say, "shut up!" and i'm like, "you shut up." in business, it's all about reliability. 'cause these guys aren't just hitting "print." they're hitting "dream." so that's what i do. i print dreams, baby. [whispering] big dreams.

you have to walk from the front to the back of the bus backwards, while the bus is full with other band members and you get beat until you get to the back. >> a history of hazing exposed. a former band member talks about a ritual that may have killed a florida a&m drum major on this

"american morning." it is 30 minutes paf the hour. good morning to you. time for your top stories. president obama urging congress to pass an extension of the pay roll tax cut which expires at 9 end of the year. the president says failure to act would mean 160 million americans would pay higher taxes. democratic lawmakers offered up a compromise plan including a smaller tax on millionaires which republicans still oppose. two former house speakers spars again with newt gingrich surging in the poll, former speaker nancy pelosi is hinting she may be going on the attack dredging up investigations of gingrich from the 1990s. gingrich is calling on the house to repudiate pelosi. he says she's using her office to damage his candidacy. a whopping one in three children is overweight or obese, and even more shocking, many of their parents don't even know

it. a new study says four out of five parents say they were never told by a doctor that their child had a weight problem. the study finds many parents didn't realize or don't realize when a weight problem is creeping up on their child. she called him mr. band. the mother of the college drum major killed in a suspected hazing incident says her son fell in love with music when he was just 5 years old. he died at 26 just before thanksgiving. his parents sat down with cnn's jason carroll and they say they want to see justice for their son. ♪ >> reporter: robert champion was living his dream. a dream that started when he was 5 years old. being a drum major. his parents say the last time they spoke to him was just before thanksgiving. >> we had talked to him and he was saying how he couldn't wait to come home. >> reporter: robert champion was a member of florida a&m university's p prestigious band

marching 100. after performing in orlando, his parents got another call. this time from his sister. >> she called us, said someone had called her and saying that robert had problems breathing, and i think one of the band members said, well, he wasn't breathing. >> when you get that kind of news, you think, you know -- not my robert. you know, maybe they made a mistake. so i guess i kind of still had that in my mind that it wasn't my son. you know? this is a bad joke. you know? >> a bad dream. >> reporter: but this was all too real. listen to the 911 call made by a band member. >> are you with the person right now? >> i'm getting off the bus so i can hear you. >> he's inside the bus? >> yes, inside the but.

>> how old is he? >> he 125. >> -- he is 25. >> is he awake? >> he's not re-- i don't know i breathing now. >> is he awake? >> he's not responding. >> okay. but is he breathing? >> i -- i have no idea. i cannot tell you that. >> the 911 call, too painful for his parents to hear. it wasn't until robert's body was brought home to suburban atlanta the shock of his death really began to register. >> you kind of look at it like he was still at school, and he was, just hadn't come home. but to have him come home that w way -- that's the hardest thing for anybody. >> reporter: but why did he die? investigators suspect hazing, band members we spoke to say it may have been the result of a rite of passage called crossing

bus c. the bus robert was on after the game. one band member who did not want to be identified told me what happens. >> you have to walk from the front to the back of bus becomewards and whibecom backwards, while the bus is full of other band members and you bet geet. >> reporter: the point is for what are? >> for respect. >> reporter: the beating is referred to as thunder and lightning. what's that? >> thunder, a straight hit to the chest. >> straight hit to the chest. >> lightning, which you get kind of like a slap to the shoulders. >> reporter: he says he himself has never been hazed. the beatings usually happen for one of two reasons. mistake during a performance or as a way for the band member to gain respect. in some way, the marching 100 is bigger than the games where they play. their high-stepping choreography earned them a worldwide reputation, performing in spots at super bowls and the president's inauguration.

but allegations of hazing have followed the band for years. back in 2001, a student was paddled so badly, he had to be hospitalized for kidney failure, and just weeks before champion's death, the band's director julian white, will to suspend 26 of the band members for hazing. white says he tried for years to end the practice, but says no one listened. the university fired white following champion's death and suspended band performances indefinitely. the school's president, james emmons, spoke at champion's funeral and vowed his death would not be in vain. he denied requests to be interviewed saying the school must be held accountable. >> whatever it takes to clean house, from the top to the bottom, clean house. >> reporter: they say justice will come. healing for them will come much longer. >> the thing is that i'm just going to miss his smile, his big

hugs. there's nothing in the world that can prepare you for that. nothing. gosh. i'm crying. nothing can prepare you for that. nothing. >> jason, it is so heartbreaking to listen to his parents and heartbreaking to listen to that 911 call. you pointed out in your piece this type of hazing has been going on for years. the band director tried to warn the school numerous times. that band director was fired. i mean, is there anything substantive being done about this to correct this problem? >> reporter: well, the school does have a policy in place, but a lot of julian white's critics basically say, yes, he has the power to suspend a student when there is an allegation of hazing that's taken place, but suspension for some of these students is like a holiday. it's not a real punishment, and

the critics of the school and of julian white basically say, if you have a system in place, and it's not working, you have an obligation to do something to fix it, and clearly, that didn't happen here. >> and you have spoken to students. you know, your sense, then is that this is still going on? >> reporter: absolutely, without question. >> hmm. >> reporter: this is something, again, right up until, right before champion's death. remember, julian white had to suspend 26 of the band members for hazing. so this is something that for generations, for years, has taken place at the university. last night there was a symposium held, an anti-hazing symposium held by the university's president. everyone attendhood to come by and sign a form saying they were against hazing, but champion's parents say more has to be done. >> jaysing carroll with the

story. thank you very much. happening right now in greece, erupting again. clashes in athens on the day parliament is set to vote on the next year's budget and protesters are marching to mark the anniversary of a 2008 shooting of a student by police. oil giant bp file as lawsuit against halliburton. one of its contractors during the deadly rig explosion in the gulf of mexico last year. bp saying halliburton destroyed key evidence that pointed to problems with its cement slurry. halliburton spokesperson saying it is reviewing the court filing, but it believes the allegations are not true. still to come this morning, newt gingrich surging to the top of the polls, but how long can he keep it up? we'll ask republican strategist john mclaughlin and ari fleischer to look into their crystal balls. >> they can see things we can't. obese kids oblivious parents. a growing number of children are overweight or obese, and their parents don't even know it. how is this possible? we'll talk about it, straight

ahead. and they now know what caused that giant wall of water to slam into japan in march. the anatomy of a deadly tsunami is ahead on "american morning." it's 39 minutes past the hour. a new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? we talked about getting a diamond. but with all the thank you points i've been earning... ♪ ...i flew us to the rock i really had in mind. ♪ [ male announcer ] the citi thank you card. earn points you can use for travel on any airline, with no blackout dates.

welcome back to "american morning." 42 minutes past the hour. a few months ago newt gingrich was considered dead in the water. experts said he didn't stand a chance after his, much of his staff walked out on him, but now he's leading in iowa. the first state to vote? a perfect time for a chat with donald trump. right? gingrich is the fifth republican candidate to get an audience with the donald. on the road to the white house, how much does trump really mat jer let's bring in ari fleischer, former white house press secretary, joining us live from new york this morning and republican strat jit john mclaughlin with us in our new york studio. welcome to both of you. >> good morning. >> john, start with you. you have advised donald trump. how is he suddenly the republican kingmaker? >> trump has a sense, when things were going bad for the economy and the country and at the same time very critical of the president. republicans are looking for

somebody to beat barack obama. so in his criticism of barack obama and the economy and china and foreign policy, he was moving himself to where people said, shue run. now what's happening, other candidates that sat back are trying to get a piece of that support, and basically that energy, so that they can be the one to beat barack obama. >> so are you agreeing with that? the flastier stuff you say about president obama, the more cred you have? >> i don't, no. there are a lot of things to be said about barack obama, he's led us to such a bad economy, large unemployment and debt. donald trump is a builder, a political donor. i don't see him as being a credible serious player in politics. >> i've got to the say you're wrong, ari. first of all, being nasty. ari and i have known each other 30 years. he's criticized him on policy, on ideas. seriously -- >> wait a second. let's just take a stroll back through memory lane and check on

what donald trump, what he was really known for when making his run for president. let's listen. >> this is what you heard. >> maybe so. >> he doesn't have a birth certificate. he may have one, but there's something on that birth -- maybe religion. maybe it says he's a muslim. i don't know. maybe he doesn't want that, or he may not have one. >> the thing that people remember, most people remember about donald trump's run was that president obama produced his birth certificate. >> right. what they should have remembered is -- >> this doesn't help the country. >> he should have put it out when he first ran. on the other hand, maybe donald trump used that to get attention, but it's been his criticism of his policy, on foreign policy, on china, on -- i mean, running from china to pay for what we've gotten in the federal deficit. he scored attention to that and the other candidates basically are looking to get some sort of attention for their policy

criticism of the president, and no one can say things look good right now. that's what's going on right now. this president is really vulnerable because he's failing. >> there are two republican candidates running for president right now who don't buy into the whole trump thing and one of them is jon huntsman. let's listen to what jon huntsman had to say about donald trump. >> you know, i'm not going to kiss his ring and i'm not going to kiss any other part of his anatomy. this not about ratings for donald trump. this is about jobs for the american people. >> so, ari fleischer, huntsman's like nowhere in this race. was that a smart thing for him to say? >> well, i'm glad to see somebody is standing up for not making donald trump the center ring of what could be a circus. that's i think where this is heading when people talk about donald trump. i wish jon huntsman was more affable. this race is not about donald trump, third players or parties. who the republicans will nominate at a time the american

economy is tanking, a time people are suffering, job losses are huge and the economy is going in the wrong direction. we have a president who flip-flops on every major issue. a president who said he wouldn't raise taxes on people's income below $ 50,000. did it on his 16th day in office when he raised the cigarette tax. wouldn't extend bush tax cuts. led the congress to raise tax cuts. wouldn't raise the debt limit. he raised the debt limit and a health care and because nancy pelosi is a stronger leader signed one into law. we have a weak economy and a weak president. that's what this race is about for republicans and we need a serious best candidate. >> why don't they like newt gingrich, then? he's going to moderate the debate. it's become a circus, donald trump. right? why not say it on your own? >> first of all, gingrich has been saying that and become a front-runner and he's got 28 days to go in iowa as a

front-runner right now. but he's gotten there because he has been critical of the president, the most substantive and hard on foreign policy. 1,000 people in the atrium at the trump tower with the media covering it. what happens is, he's using it to get attention for himself, his own ideas and his own platform. gingrich now for the next 28 days, including christmas, has to win the news cycle every day to place first in iowa. so this was, today's event. tomorrow it will be something else. >> okay. so ari, the final word. is this the sort of stuff you need do to be the center of the news cycle for the next 28 days? >> well, what's gotten newt to be at the center of the news cycle is substance and policy and frankly these debates fascinating. i'm a capitalist and enjoy political consumerism and republicans get the shot in deciding among the candidates. this race remains extraordinarily volatile for republicans. still almost anything can happen in this republican campaign.

i wouldn't place a bet on anybody yet. >> are you excited to see donald trump as moderator? that will be a joke, it will be a carnival. i've koch and republicans to refuse to go. >> i think the center. you know, you're bringing a chapter of "apprentice" to the republican primary. it will bring more viewers and help the candidates get their points across. >> it's not -- >> you see the millions that watch. it will be very serious. >> it's not about millions that watch. >> yes, it is. we have to communicate. >> it will be a car wreck. >> ari, we know that. >> let me finish my thought. president's politics should be about things that are serious. it should not gravitate to the entertainment level and that's what it will be if you put a third party showman like donald trump as a moderator. i'm glad to see most republicans have not accepted that debate. it's a mistake for the gravitas of the republican party trchts is serious and you know what? other people have done the same old boring politics. make it at least interesting and exciting. >> not for the party. >> he's not my client.

he isn't paying me. wish he was. he isn't. >> anyway, thank you both for being here. ari fleischer, john mclaughlin, a great conversation. >> i didn't look away. still to come this morning, overweight kids, oblivious parents. a new study says a growing number of parents don't even realize their kids are obese. how is this happening? we'll talk about it with cnn senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen straight ahead.

here's what you need to know to start your day. president obama urging lawmakers today to pass a new payroll tax plan proposed by senate democrats. he says it would give 160 million middle class americans an extra $1,000 in their paychecks. republicans are rejecting it saying they had no input in the compromise plan. bomb blasts rocking afghanistan this morning killing 54 people at kabul. these pictures just in to cnn. another bombing in northern afghanistan claimed four victims and a third explosion reported in kandahar. the massive wall of water that devastated japan in march was so ferocious because at least two powerful waves combined to become one enormous tsunami. researchers from nasa and ohio state university say their findings could help them better predict the risks from future tsunamis. all eight alleged victims in

the grand jury report on former penn state football coach jerry sandusky will reportedly testify against him in court. this according to abc news. sandusky's attorney says he's looking forward to the opportunity to question anyone who testifies. the hearing begins next week. you're caught up on the day's headlines, "american morning" is back after this. h♪ ♪ cheap cologne ♪ motor home ♪ i'm the rocket man! [ both ] ♪ rocket man ♪ burning out his fuse up here alone ♪ burning out his fuse up here alone? ahh. [ male announcer ] crystal clear fender premium audio. one of many premium features available on the all-new volkswagen passat. the 2012 motor trend car of the year. ♪ and i think it's gonna be a long, long time ♪ the 2012 motor trend car of the year. usa prime credit... this peggy... hi, i'm cashing in my points... peggy? no more points - coupons now.

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welcome back to "american morning." it's 54 minutes after the hour. your "am house call" shocking stats for childhood obesity. one in three children is overweight or obese, but, get this, many parents don't know their kids have a problem. unbelievable. >> it is unbelievable. our senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen joins us now with more. can't you see if your child is overweight? >> right. that's what everybody has said to me this morning as i have been talking to them about this segment. can't you see it? here's part of the problem. if your kid is a little bit overweight it may look like they're just going through a chunky period and then a couple months later they're actually a fine weight. sometimes it's hard to tell because children are constantly growing. but here is where the real problem lies. in many communities in this country, if your child is

overweight, they're in really good company. so, if every other child looks like your child, you may not think that your kid is overweight. so, you would hope in that case that the doctor would tell them but, as this study shows, they asked about 5,000 parents of overweight and obese children, gee, were your told that your child was overweight or obese? less than a third said the doctor told them they were overweight or obese. you can blame the parents for not knowing, but why is it when they went to the their doctors, fewer than a third were told by those doctors that their child had a weight problem and that's why we're seeing some public health campaigns. for example here in atlanta driving around, you see these billboards where they show you a picture of an overweight child and they say, hey, if this is your kid, you might have a problem and you should do something about it. it's gotten to that where they have to put heavy kids on billboards to show you an example. here is some of the billboards here. they show you an example of it because they want you to know what's too heavy. >> so, how many pounds are we

talking about when you say overweight, how many pounds are we talking about? >> this is part of the problem, carol. there is no way to give you an answer to that question because these are kids. they're different ages and they're different genders and i can't say, oh, if you're five pounds or three pounds or two pounds, it has to do with percent tiles. that is the other part of the problem. you cannot go on the internet and get an easy answer to your question. you can't say i have a 10-year-old, she's 4 foot whatever, she weighs this, is she overweight. i want to show you an example of a chart that is supposed to help you figure out if your kid's overweight. what does this chart mean? this is a simplified version and it's so hard to figure out. so, i have tried to do this as a parent to go online and find an easy way to see if my kid's weight is okay and it's extremely difficult and i do this for a living. >> is there anything very quickly that parents can do to identify this and fix it?

>> yeah, the first thing that you want to do is just ask your doctor. when you go in for that annual physical or any other time, say, hey, doctor, is this weight okay because this study shows that doctors don't always tell parents. now, maybe part of the problem is parents don't hear it. so, be ready to hear it. when you go, just explicitly ask that question. is my child's weight okay, or do we need to worry about it? >> elizabeth cohen, thank you very much. ahead in the next hour of "american morning," we'll take you inside one new york school that is so overcrowded that the principal is using the attic and the basement just to fit all the kids. >> the attic and the basement. we'll tell you about it. brad, where we going? just a second. just, just one second. ♪ what are you looking at? don't look up there.

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putting money in your pocket instead of taking it out of your paycheck. i'm alina cho. congress still sparring over an extension of the payroll tax cut with the deadline fast approaching. i'm carol costello. newt gingrich surging in the polls opening a 15-point lead on the field in iowa. the former house speaker considered dead in the water just a few months ago, now looking more like a juggernaut on this "american morning." good morning, it's wednesday, december 6th. two days away from friday. carol costello. >> it's wednesday already. >> we've been off a couple days. >> it's tuesday. >> oh, it's tuesday. it is tuesday. oh, my goodness gracious. >> i'm rubbing off on you. >> you are rubbing off on me. >> good morning, everyone. the clock is ticking, not that

fast, but it is ticking and president obama says congress must extend the payroll tax cut. 160 million americans won't have to pay higher taxes next year. senate democrats put forth a new plan to extend and expand it, but republicans still balk at a millionaire's surtax. earlier on "american morning," pennsylvania democratic senator bob casey said his plan is one both sides can live with. >> we've got to do this now, we've got to give taxpayers the kind of certainty that they should have by the end of the year, and i think it makes a lot of sense. we cut this surtax way down from what it was. it is a reasonable compromise and a reasonable way to get revenue to be able to give middle income families the break that they should have the right to expect. >> republican leaders beg to differ about the democrats' plan. orrin hatch says, "it's hard for the majority to call this a compromise when the other side hasn't been involved."

>> kate baldwin following all of the developments for us and she joins us now live from washington. hey, kate, good morning. >> hey there, both of you. here are what democrats are proposing on this new, new, as they call it a compromise offer. obviously, republicans beg to differ and call it really a poison pill that you talk about, that millionaire surtax. like their original offer that failed in the senate last week, democrats are proposing to extend and expand the employee payroll tax. taking it from a 4.2% tax to 3.1% tax. if congress doesn't act, that rate will go back up to 6.2% in january. and here are a couple of the major differences in the democrats' new plan. it would no longer provide a tax cut to employers in order to bring down the overall cost of the package and try to attract more democrat support. they have scaled down the tax on income over $1 million as you heard senator casey talk about. down to just under 2% tax from a

little over a 3% tax. they also made that millionaire surtax temporary. they've done that in response to republican opposition to imposing a permanent tax to pay for temporary economic stimulus. we could see a first test vote on this measure as early as friday, but, quite honest lee, it's not likely to go anywhere as we talked about all morning as this millionaire surtax is still all over the deal and doomed many proposals in the past. republicans are against it. they stand proposed to a tax hike on small businesses and job creators, which they say this will be. as i was told by a house republican leadership aid, this is a poison pill, still. it seems while they're talking about it and they call it a compromise, doesn't seem republicans are agreeing with them at the moment. >> we've seen this happen before with congress. the deadline comes and then suddenly there's a deal. is that how you see things playing out? >> well, senator casey just last hour in speaking to you guys he did say at the end he thinks

they'll get a deal. it's kind of the general thought on capitol hill, still. at some point they'll get to a position where they're going to negotiate and reach some kind of a compromise. what that compromise will look like, of course, we don't know that yet and still plenty of time for both sides to kind of politically posture and get their message out before they go to strike a deal. republicans there are real divisions still amongst the republican party on capitol hill. on this issue the payroll taxes and democrats see a real opening here in this political fight. they think they have a real winning message to be able to say, if republicans are the party of do not raise taxes, why to they want to raise taxes here if they vote against extending this tax cut. democrats are definitely capitalizing on this moment. >> kate baldwin, thanks. >> of course. newt gingrich is on quite a roll with one month to go before the iowa caucuses. he has gone from dead in the

water to juggernaut in just a matter of months. look at this brand-new abc/"washington post" pole. 30% of the vote right now on issues like electability, empathy and handling the economy. gingrich topped romney in every category. two former house speakers are turning back the clock and preparing for what could be another epic battle with frontrunning republican newt gingrich pulling ahead in all the polls. democrats, of course, are starting to take notice and then one old foe nancy pelosi is hinting she is ready to go on the attack by dredging up investigations of gingrich when he served in the house back in the 1990s. pelosi saying, "i know a lot about him. i served on the investigative committee that investigated him. four of us locked in the room in an undisclosed location for a year. 1,000 pages of this stuff." here's gingrich's response. >> i want to thank speaker

pelosi for what i regard as an early christmas gift. >> are you concerned about that information reelrnlging? >> we turned over a million pages of material. we had a huge report. the total, 83 charges were reputeiated as false. the one mistake we made was a letter written by a lawyer that i didn't read carefully. >> as i have been saying, never a dull moment. other news now, the manhunt for an escaped prison inmate going on right now. 33-year-old david glenn hobson broke out of prison in new hampshire last week and they now believe he is on the run in maine. hobson was being held on burglary charges. he escaped by scaling a 12-foot razor wire fence. three separate bombings in three separate cities rocking afghanistan this morning, killing 54 people at a shiite shrine in kabul. another bombing in northern afghanistan claimed four victims and a third explosion also

reported in kandahar. protests in greece are erupting, again. clashes in athens this morning on the day that parliament is set to vote on next year's budget. protesters are also reportedly marching to mark the anniversary of a 2008 shooting of a student by police. two bodies have been found in yosemite national park. they were recovered near the area where three hikers went over a waterfall and apparently were killed months ago. authorities say the hikers got caught in a current and plunged down the vernal fall. the body of one of those hikers has already been found and authorities hope to make a positive i.d. on the other two within the next several days. some are calling it the last-ditch effort to save the euro. this morning u.s. treasury secretary timothy geithner is joining the talks with his european counterparts on how to prevent a breakup of europe's monetary union. this after standard & poor's may carry out a downgrade of 15 euro zone countries, including the top ranked germany and france.

jerry sandusky face his accusers. all eight alleged victims on the former penn state football coach will reportedly testify against him in court. now, this is according to abc news. the preliminary hearing is set to begin next tuesday. sandusky accused of molesting the boys over an eight-year period' his attorney says he's looking forward to the opportunity to question anyone who testifies. and scientists have discovered the most earth-like planet ever seen before. take a look at it. it's called cepler 22b, otherwise known as the goldie locks planet. circling a star beyond our solar system. 600 light years away. one light year is 6 trillion miles. astronomers say there is liquid water on the planet's surface, but try getting there. follow-up studies are under way to determine whether keplar 22b is solid like the earth.

>> you could use your imagination with that one, right? another alina cho. >> perhaps. perhaps not. most likely not. rob marciano. good morning. >> hey, guys. want to start you off with what's going on in new mexico. an unusual event there the past two days. snow fwaalling, yeah, not just higher elevations but low as well. matter of fact, i-10 and i-25 still closed this morning. here it is off the new mexico department of transportation website. so, they think once sun up comes, they'll probably get to seeing these interstates open, again. angel fire skiers at 12 inches of snow. right now they're reporting 18 degrees below zero. give you an idea of how cold it is and albuquerque seeing four inches of snow. that broke a record yesterday. also breaking records, tucson, arizona, the first five days of this month is the coldest start

to december the day has seen since 1913. some of the cold air getting to southern california. today is the last day of seeing santa ana winds blow. it will be chilly, though, for sure. some of the rainfall across the northeast right now will be increasing. we'll get several pulses of it. it's mild today, showers, temperatures about 60 degrees, but tomorrow night into thursday, some of that rain will turn to snow and a ribbon of snowfall away from the big cities north and west of i-95. could see a few inches of snow. albany, new york, may get several inches of it. we'll watch this carefully, but your first taste of winter. delays at philadelphia right now and probably see delays at new york, as well. maybe new york and d.c. and chicago as we go throughout the day today. guys, back up to you. >> you mean it will get cold here. >> it is december, so, 60 degrees isn't normal. >> i was so spoiled. >> i didn't even need my coat this morning. rob marciano, took it off at 3:00. >> you guys have fancy winter

wear. you're fashionable kids. >> all right. >> stop it. >> thanks, rob marciano. just ahead on "american morning," holding classes in the attic and basement. a school bursting with children, literally. cnn going in depth on the overcrowding crisis. and oscar-nominated actor mark rough luffalo will join us in our studio to talk about fracking and why he is so passionate it about. you're watching "american morning," we're back after this. a slithery surprise discovered by an idaho family in their christmas tree. yes, another snake in a christmas tree story. we'll be right back. you want to make a healthy choice for your hair

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chase sapphire preferred, this is julie in springfield. 16 minutes past the hour, welcome back to "american morning." this week rear looking at in depth look at education. overcrowding in schools. recently i visited a new york high school that was built for 1 1,400 students but has 3,900. the principal had to use the attic and the basement to fit in all those kids and it's not just a problem in new york with budget cuts reducing the number of teachers, class sizes are growing around the country. i took a look at how this one new york high school is making the best of it. >> reporter: students at new york forest hills high school start the day like workers in a factory, in shifts. by the time the 10:30 shift rolls in the 7:30 shift is

having lunch. >> during seventh and eighth periods you're feeling it. it's very claus rophobic. i think the way we do it, it's great. >> reporter: it's what happens when you have to cram 3,900 students built into a school for 1,400. the school had to use an old restroom for teacher's office. you have kids in the basement and the attic and kids in what used to be the hallways and kids in classrooms that have been split in half. >> we see what we have and we try to make it as pleasant that children want to come to school and we have an 87% graduation rate and 90% of our kids going on to college. >> reporter: school overcrowding has become a vexing problem all over the country, thanks to tight budgets and teacher layoffs this elementary school kindergarten class has 32 kids fighting for one teacher's attention. >> the classes are way too big. we have some of the students sitting on the floor. one teacher per class.

some classes don't have an aid, y the students aren't getting the attention that they really need. >> reporter: the new york teacher union says 3,700 overcrowded classrooms. >> it's the worst i've seen. the worst. >> reporter: students at different levels in the same classroom and there are so many of them, it is quite difficult to reach out to each one of them. >> reporter: the principal here disputes that. forest hills boasts a graduate rate in the 80th percentile. if you want to know why, ask the kids. >> i think you have more experiences when you have 30 kids in a classroom because you have 30 different opinions that can open your eyes to something different. >> and here to talk more about the importance of class size and the nation's overcrowding crisis is the founder and executive director of class size matters.

welcome. >> thank you. >> the last student that was speaking i talked with her at forest hills. she's in a very overcrowded school. her classroom packed to the gills but she says that, you know, there are so many students in class we help one another. sort of a group learning process that they say helps them more than just one teacher teaching the class. >> well, i think if you ask the majority of new york city high school students how they feel about it, many of them feel like they're being shafted by the system right now. that they're not getting the attention from their teachers that they need and deserve. and that often in and out of class, the teacher has no time to help them. when they're really suffering and falling behind. now, there are some students that are going to succeed no matter what. they're self-motivated, they're bright and they often have a support system at home. but for the majority of new york city students, many of them are disadvantaged.

many of them have working parents. we are not seeing the kind of results that we would see if we had smaller classes. >> i think that forest hills, you're right, great students go there, they have an 87% graduation rate. most of the kids there go on to college. and they have good teachers, but, you're right in other school districts, that might not be the case and what's the answer to their overcrowding problem that would be students who aren't properly educated. >> when you go and you interview high school dropouts across the country, one of the issues that comes up over and over again is the large class sizes, the feeling they have that they are not connected with any adult who cares about them. who really is allowing them to learn and to succeed. and when you go across the country and you survey teachers, they say the number one best way to improve their effectiveness would be to reduce class size. that's why it's very tragic that right now, across the country, school budgets are being cut to

the bone and we're seeing unprecedented increases in class sizes. 30, 40 or more. >> but i guess what i'm wondering. if forest hills is making it work, clearly is. is it really an overcrowding problem or is it a quality teacher problem? >> what i think you would find if you talked to the teachers at forest hills, they will say they cannot do their best when they're given classes of 30, 34 or more. when they have 150 students. just marking papers, giving students five extra minutes out of class when they need help would take like 40 extra hours a week. a whole second job. they are unable to do it. behind those graduation figures of 80% or more, you will find a lot of students who aren't learning what they need to succeed in college. right now in new york city, our high school graduates only 20% of them are college ready.

those are the kids that make it through high school. the vast majority have to take remedial courses in college and, in fact, the percentage of kids who have to have triple remediation, which means reading, writing and math, has doubled in the last five years. >> but, again, i'll just ask you the question, again. is it more a problem, you know, quality teachers are so important. a good teacher is worth everything, right? >> a good quality teacher is important, but so is the class size that allows them to be successful and to really engage students. right now across the country we say we want to have students learn critical thinking and be able to really delve deep into subjects. you cannot nurture that kind of critical thinking and deep understanding when students don't have time to discuss, debate, ask questions and have their concerns remediated. >> looking at the problem realistically, this isn't likely to change because the first

thing that state governments cut, education. i mean, a lot of school districts are getting rid of old school buildings and they're consolidating schools, right? it's not going the other way. so, maybe we have to find an answer because that's just how it's going to be. we're going to have crowded schools. >> i don't believe that here the richest country in the world should be educating any of its students in what is often third world conditions. we look at other countries around the world like finland, for example, which do not have our wealth, but have class sizes that average 20 or less. they turned around their educational system when they reduced class sizes, among other reforms we made. if we really want to have a bright, economic future, if we really want our kids to be able to succeed, we will offer them smaller classes. particularly in our large urban centers, which often have the largest class sizes, but also have the kids who need that attention from their teachers

most. >> thank you so much for coming in this morning, we appreciate it. >> thank you very much for having me. in vermont, we're going to talk about school population there's and they're actually declining in vermont. but even with fewer kids, you still need to run lunchroom staff and that could be expensive. tomorrow we'll visit a school where parents are searching for ways to increase class size to keep schools open. in one school in vermont there is one student. it's crazy. check out our schools of thought blog. cnn.com/education. also ahead on "american morning," tell it to the judge. facing a possible long prison sentence. former illinois governor rod blagojevich will plead for leniency on his sentencing hearing today. just one phillips' colon health probiotic cap a day

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28 minutes after the hour. the make or break week for the euro zone. not off to a good start. any confidence early in the day that the eu was moving forward to fix its problems was quickly erased after rating agency standard & poor's put 15 euro zone countries on notice for a possible downgrade. heightened market tension and a greater risk of a recession in 20 12 in the euro zone. stocks came off their highs towards the end of the session yesterday, once this s&p news broke. right now u.s. stock futures are trading higher ahead of the opening bell. we're keeping a close eye on the futures this morning. a lot of market volatility right now. european and asian markets are down so far today.

across the whole week last week, online shoppers spent a staggering $6 billion. that's according to online shopping trekker comscore and their latest report said cybermonday was the biggest shopping day on record with $1.25 billion spent. coming up next, multiple blasts rip through afghanistan. a live report through the region and oscar nominated actor mark ruffalo will join us in our studio. "american morning" is back after this. what do you got? restrained driver in a motor vehicle. sir, can you hear me? two, three. just hold the bag.

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it has been a bloody morning in afghanistan. more than 50 people killed by a suicide bomber at a religious shrine in kabul. a live report for you on this "american morning." good morning, everybody. welcome back to "american morning." i'm alina cho along with carol

costello. democrats rolling out a new plan to extend the payroll tax cut before it expires at the end of the year. president obama is urging congress to pass it, warning if they don't, 160 million americans will pay higher taxes next year. > the democratic plan, though, still calls for an income surcharge tax on millionaires. republicans are having none of that. it is official, newt gingrich is the man to beat in iowa. the former house speaker is surging to the top of the polls boosted by his debate performances and herman cain's bow out. the latest iowa poll from "washington post" and abc news is gingrich 33% support from likely ucus goers. that's a likely 15 points ahead of mitt romney and ron paul. both of whom are tied for second place. all eight alleged victims on jerry sandusky will testify in court. this according to abc news. sandusky's attorney said he's

looking forward to the opportunity to question anyone who testifies. the hearing begins next week. this just in to cnn, brand-new details about a stealth u.s. drone that crashed in iran last week. barbara starr is live at the pentagon for us. i guess we finally know what kind of drone this is. >> several new details. good morning, carol. in fact, u.s. officials now saying, yes, it was, in fact, an rq 170 stealth drone. this is a drone developed for the usair force, flown often by the u.s. intelligence community to gather intelligence reconnaissance and targeting information. several u.s. officials now this morning confirming to cnn that when it crashed in iran last week, it was part of a cia reconnaissance mission that involved both intelligence and military personnel. the cia is declining all comment, but these officials are saying that when the drone was on the mission over the afghan/iran border, it was on the afghanistan side.

they lost control of it. it crashed in iran and it was a mission that involved both intelligence cia personnel and u.s. military personnel. why is this so critical? >> well, of course, it's one of the first indications out in public now that the u.s. is conducting intelligence and reconsense missions trying to gather information about what is going on inside iran. this drone can stay on the afghan side of the border, still see into iran, if you will, and gather information from there. it was really critical when that statement came out over the weekend from the coalition and afghanistan. it didn't say who was operating the drone, it only said operators of the drone. and for many people, that was one of the first clues that this was a very secret intelligence mission. >> it is also pretty secret technology. now it's in the hands of the iranians. is there concern about that? >> well n dee, indeed.

when it went down in iran, the u.s. was very quickly able to pinpoint the location in iran and there was consideration given to options including trying to cover the wreckage and b bombing it. they like to say all the options are on the table, but discounted them because, look, this is iran and quite a remarkable thing to try to stage any type of u.s. military mission in iranian air space or on the ground in iran. that was all discounted. now, the question remains, what shape is that wreckage in? what do the iranians really have their hands on? is any of that technology in tact and the iranians can maybe call in the chinese and ask them to help look at it? can they reverse engineer any of it? can they do anything with it? that's now the critical question. >> barbara starr live at the pentagon, thanks. three bomb blasts rocking afghanistan overnight killing at least 58 people. >> at least 54 of the victims were killed when a suicide

bomber blew himself up at a crowded shrine in kabul. the attack apparently targeting minority shiites. nick payton walsh is live in kabul with the latest. nick, good morning to you. >> absolutely. we have an intensely packed shiite pilgrimage here right in the center of kabul. clearly this one suicide bomber aiming to cause as many casualties as possible. this is describing how bodies have literally blown out in a fan around the site of the particular blast. we have here for you quite distressing video that shows the exact moment the bomb went off. as you can see, this was clearly a religious festival. people actually whipping themselves, drawing blood as part of the morning process under the shia religion. clearly the fear here that we're looking potentially at some bit

by the insurgents. taliban denied responsibility for this between sunni and shiite muslims. something we haven't heard in iraq. concerns a new element starting in this decaddecade-long confli. but certainly right now many people in kabul deeply traumatized by this death toll which may continue to rise. 150 plus people injured. back to you. >> nick paton walsh, live for us in kabul, thank you very much. here at home, former illinois governor rod blagojevich could be looking at a long prison term for his conviction on more than a dozen counts of corruption. >> that's right. remember him a two-day sentencing hearing begins this morning and prosecutors will ask the judge to throw the book at blagojevich. ted rollins is live in chicago for us. good morning, ted. >> good morning. this is a big day for rod blagojevich.

he'll have an opportunity to trae address the court and ask for leniency from the judge. he was, of course, found guilty, as you mentioned, of 18 counts of corruption and looking at a lengthy prison sentence. prosecutors are asking this judge to sentence blagojevich to 15 to 20 years. his defense attorneys have submitted paperwork asking the judge for three years. it will be up to the judge to determine where he should be sentenced to. we do expect blagojevich to definitely talk to the judge. what we don't know is whether he will admit any guilt here or as we've seen periodically in his media appearances since his conviction, he has maintained his innocence. if he gets in front of the judge and says i'm innocent, i'm innocent, a lot of legal analysts says that won't bode well for him. interesting to see which rod blagojevich we get this morning. >> assuming he gets jailtime, will he get sent to jail right away? >> likely not.

he won't be sentenced today. two-day sentencing. today the judge will hear from blagojevich and from the attorneys and then deliver the sentence tomorrow and it's up to the judge whether blagojevich will be remanded into custody right away, which you normally see in a case or if he'll be give on the opportunity to report to the bureau of prisons. the one thing we have in this great state of illinois, we have a track record. so, we can just look back to the former governor before blagojevich, george ryan. in that case, he was allowed to report to the bureau of prisons. likely that blagojevich will have that same opportunity as his predecessor, meaning he'll be able to spend the holidays with his family. >> that was such a sad thing to say. >> i was going to say. sad state of affairs. ted rowlands thank you very much for that update. we'll watch it, too. still to come, mark ruffalo live in the "american morning" studios. he's fighting against fracking. what is that all about and why is he so passionate about it? he'll tell us. good to see you.

welcome back. fracking. it sounds like a dirty word. for many people that care about the environment, it is.

involves pumping millions of gallons of water and chemicals into underground shale to extract natural gas. our next guest mark ruffalo is very concerned about the harm that critics say fracking can do to the environment. he will be making his case in about an hour on the steps of new york's city hall. what will you be doing there? >> we are doing a press conference to announce the water, a community in pennsylvania that about a year ago the dep for pennsylvania said that their water was contaminated by oil and gas by hydrofracking. on november 30th, the dep of pennsylvania allowed cabot to stop bringing fresh drinking water. >> explain to us, there are a lot of people who have heard the term fracking or hydrofracking but not entirely sure what it is. explain to me what it is and why

is it so damaging in your estimation to the environment? >> there is something they call shale and inside the shale, which lies about 5,000 feet below the surface of the earth is gas. natural gas pockets and they, they drill a hole 5,000 feet down and another 5,000 out horizontically and they put about 7 million gallons of fresh water infused with about 150,000 gallons of cancerous and endocrindisrupting chemicals and they blast this at such high pressures that it actually cracks the bed rock and allows the gas to percolate up to the surface. but what we're doing is just taking 7 million gallons out of our fresh water supply. there's only 2.5% of the water in the world is fresh water. that's all the fresh water we'll ever have and they're lacing it

with these contaminates that comes up with heavy metals and radiation and can't be remediated. >> the pennsylvania department of environmental protection says they have provided clean water by drilling new wells and putting in treatment systems. what do you say to that? >> the whole aqua floor is contaminated. it's not for no reason that all of the families along one road who all had wells had all been contaminated. >> i want to show this video, again. we spoke to you and director josh fox about the movie gasland. this documentary when you look at the video there, it shows residents and they can actually, as you can see there, light their tap water on fire because of the methane gas that leak under to the water supply. i mean, is that still going on there? >> yes. their wells are still percola percolating methane and that will never be probably in their lifetimes will not be remediated. once methane enters s at high

levels. >> what is happening to these people as a result. >> the children have been bathing it. they have been using this water for almost two years because the dep has been delivering them water. but when they were using it, their children were breaking out with skin rashes. one of the craig soughtner's daughter was passing out in the shower from the high levels of methane and other chemical gases. pets have died all over pennsylvania from this. it's nasty stuff. >> you know, so many causes out there. hydrofracking necessarily isn't the most obvious one. i mean, you're a hollywood actor. you're very busy. why, why did you get so involved with this? why so passionate about it? >> well, i live there. i live in that area and, you know, to me, we're facing this era of extreme energy distraction whether it's tar sands or mountaintop removal and

all of these things destroy our water and they tie very nicely into this idea that climate change is real. and water happens to be one of the victims of climate change and the extreme extraction methods that we now have, that we're now engaging in and it has to be stopped. it's time for us to move forward. >> can't let you go without asking you a little bit about work. i remember you most recently in your oscar-nominated term "the kids are all right." spectacular performance. what are you working on now? >> i just finished a movie called "thanks for sharing" with tim robbins and gwyneth paltrow. i'm going on to do a movie with luis lateria. >> and "the avengers." >> i have a little role.

tourists arant exactly flocking to egypt. so, can egypt recover? we'll have a live report a little later on in the program. we're back after this. capital one's new cash rewards card

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welcome back. today elections continues in egypt as the country struggles to transition to democracy and after all the unrest this past year, tourists are staying away. egypt's tourism industry is hurting and that's a big deal for a nation that puts a big chunk on the tourist trade. jim, such a beautiful background. >> it is beautiful, isn't it? it's the history of egypt dating back 5,000 years or more. you're looking at the pyramid of copper right behind me. the pyramid which is, of course, the great pyramid. now, this history means something this year. in 2011, egyptians feel that they have made history with a

revolution in the streets that they hope will change their nation forever and mark the beginning of true democracy in this country. but at the same time, that revolution is, as it has been covered on international television channels has caused some effect. it has scared away the tourists. when you come here and talk to people, they are very down about the situation. tourism is down 25%, but in actuality, it is much more than that. the tourism industry itself employs about 4 million people, but when you account for all of your families, some 20 million people depend on tourism in this country for food, for clothes, for school fees. so, they are hurting right now. they are complaining that the people in the square that demonstrate the people that are being elected to the government in this process so far aren't thinking about them. and they're hoping that international visitors return here because, well, it is safe. we were talking with the tourists and they had a great time.

the ones that have come here. they have taken advantage of the fact that it is a wide open space for most people who come here and visit. the one problem might be the egyptian museum down right on tahrir square. i'm having some trouble hearing you, so, i'll have to sign off here. carol and alina, it's great to be here. this is part of the story. in fact, the city of giza more than 3 million people lies behind me, it is december 14th they will go to the polls in the second round of major voting here. there's a lot of political change that is happening in egypt. the pyramids stay the same. people that work at these pyramids are hoping, well at least the visitors will come back and change their fortunes. for now, i'm jim clancy in giza. >> thank you, jim. >> i have to say, when i see those pictures it reminds me, one place i've never been. i always wanted to visit. i have to go see them. >> the spinks, he had the camera turned. we saw it in the last hour, just gorgeous. 55 minutes after the hour.

"american morning" will be back after this. for georgia tech first baseman just playing division i baseball is a huge accomplishment. >> i know i love the game. i love being out here. >> because he has a mide ochondrial disorder. . most of his cells are failing and can't convert food and oxygen into life-sustaining energy. as a teenager he realized his body wasn't working like his twin brother's kyle. >> i was getting really sick, throw up every single day. i had brown urine and i had small incidence of lose consciousness and black out. >> reporter: it got so bad he could no longer play high school football. >> when i work out it's really, really tough for me to recover. >> reporter: no known cure or even treatment for his disorder. all he can do is manage the symptoms. >> i take supplements like

coenzyme q different 10. >> reporter: colby won't give up and he won't let his coaches go easy on him either. >> when you make a tough decision that you know down the road is going to benefit you, but it is going to be a grind all the way until you get there, those things just make you better as a person. >> reporter: colby works hard to overcome his disorder, but sometimes his body lets him down. >> some days where i'll sleep for eight hours right after i get home from class or workouts because i have to. >> reporter: for support, he has his twin brother. >> he's my roommate and my best friend. i know what he does best and i can point out what he's doing wrong and help him and he can do the same for me. >> reporter: colby loves baseball, but his body just can't make it in the majors. still, he's determined to work in baseball, preferably in public relations. he's also focused on helping raise money and awareness about mitochondrial disorders so others like him won't lose hope.

>> push on. you only get to live once. invest as much as you can into what you love and you'll be successful. >> reporter: dr. sanjay gupta, cnn, reporting. fore! no matter what small business you are in, managing expenses seems to... get in the way. not anymore. ink, the small business card from chase introduces jot an on-the-go expense app made exclusively for ink customers. custom categorize your expenses anywhere. save time and get back to what you love.

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oh, we're out oftime already. this morning has flown by. >> that's right, thanks for joining us. "cnn newsroom" with kyra phillips starts right now. hey, kyra. >> thanks, guys, so much. seems like just yesterday newt gingrich